Hurry and register your site for International Coastal Cleanup Day: DEADLINE AUGUST 9!

Just a quick reminder: If you want to register as a site coordinator for International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day 2022 – the deadline is tomorrow! Tuesday, August 9, 2022. Email JET at beachcleanupjamaica@gmail.com NOW! Or contact: Ms. Lauren Creary, Programme Director at… t| +1876 960 3693/ c| +1876 368 4452 e| lcreary.jet@gmail.com/ jamaicaenvironmenttrust@gmail.com

ICC Day has been on hiatus for two years due to the COVID pandemic, although a number of smaller beach cleanups have taken place during that period. In fact, it seems to me that awareness of solid waste management – and in particular, the scourge of plastic pollution – has increased over the past two or three years. Jamaicans are taking action (but more is always needed) and there is a concerted effort underway, in particular in the Kingston area.

Volunteers from the Optimist Club of West Portland at Buff Bay Beach played their part in 2021, separating plastics from other garbage for collection by Recycling Partners of Jamaica. (Photo: JET)

ICC Day, hosted by Jamaica’s national coordinator the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) will again be supported by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Ocean Conservancy.

This year, JET is increasing the number of volunteers and groups participating, and will host its first flagship cleanup since 2019 at the Palisadoes Go Kart Track. As a volunteer then, I have memories of that cleanup, which was extremely well supported. If you would like to volunteer, stay tuned…

Here is more from JET:

ICC Day is held on the third Saturday of September each year and spearheaded by the Ocean Conservancy. The day was started to raise awareness about the growing pollution on various beaches around the world and is important for several reasons:

· To collect as much waste from beaches, thereby preventing the waste from entering the marine environment.

· To collect data on the types of waste collected which is then entered into an international database. This will help to identify the harmful items of debris and find ways to stop them from entering the ocean.

· To raise awareness about the impact of pollution on our beaches and oceans, particularly plastic which takes hundreds of years to breakdown.

Ms. Lauren Creary, Programme Director of JET said “For ICC 2022, groups wanting to host their own cleanup on ICC Day can register as a site coordinator with JET. Registration opened on July 13 and will close on August 9, 2022. Those groups who will be coordinating cleanups will be required to attend a training session on how to plan a safe and successful cleanup, data collection and waste removal from the site. Volunteers can also register for JET’s flagship cleanup – registration opens on August 24, 2022. We look forward to having greater participation this year”.

The JET team and volunteers from Jamaica Energy Partners at the 2021 cleanup at Sirgany Beach in East Kingston. (Photo: JET)

Reduction in plastics use, especially of single-use disposable products, and the collection and recycling of plastics can help to reduce the amount of plastic waste that enters the ocean. Dr. Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, CEO of JET said that “Marine debris isn’t an ocean problem—it’s a people problem and that means people are the solution. We have to start tackling the problem of plastic in the ocean on land”.

Take a look at JET’s social media pages for further information: on Twitter @jamentrust, on Facebook and Instagram.